Beyond public-private partnerships: public-public partnerships and the reform of water services in Russia and new independent states

Popov, Vladimir and Lobina, Emanuele (2010) Beyond public-private partnerships: public-public partnerships and the reform of water services in Russia and new independent states. In: 11th International Conference "Public Sector Transition: Management in Turbulent Times" , March 5–6, 2010, St. Petersburg, Russia. (Submitted)

Abstract

One mechanism for addressing the lack of institutional capacity is that of Public-Public Partnerships (PUPs), whereby established public sector operators are used to assist the development of local managerial, financial, and accountability capacity. PUPs are peer relationships between public authorities and public operators engaging in the mutual exchange of knowledge and expertise without seeking profit or other commercial considerations. As such, PUPs are based on collaboration rather than competition, on trust and political solidarity rather than profit-seeking, and on the conception of knowledge as a public rather than a private good. PUPs are thus an alternative to Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for the reform of water services.

The proposed paper draws on empirical evidence from the PSIRU global database on the reform of public services and looks at the experience with PUPs and PPPs in Russia and New Independent States. PUPs have been used to support capacity building and institutional strengthening of public water operations, including in St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Kaunas (Lithuania) and Riga (Latvia). The paper provides an overview of the performance of PPPs in Russia and New Independent States. It then evaluates the potential of PUPs as an alternative for the reform of water operations in the region.

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